1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dental hygiene. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for retaining a toothbrush and roll of dental floss for use in cleaning someone""s teeth and otherwise maintaining healthy dental hygiene.
2. Description of Prior Art
Dental hygiene products are well known in the prior art. Many products exist for use in dental hygiene and include, for example, toothbrushes, toothpicks, toothpaste, mouthwash, rinsing cups and dental floss. These products are typically stored in a convenient location proximal to a bathroom sink so that an individual can easily clean their teeth and otherwise maintain healthy dental hygiene.
Those individuals concerned with the aesthetic setting of their bathroom may wish to conceal or organize their dental hygiene products instead of placing them upon the counter-top of their bathroom sink area. Of course, some people simply store their dental hygiene products within a cabinet mounted above the bathroom sink. However, in doing so, many people forget to clean their teeth in that the dental hygiene products are not prominently displayed. In this regard, organizers for dental hygiene products have been invented which prominently display the dental hygiene products within an individual""s visual proximity. Some of these inventions are drawn to a single dental hygiene product, such as those inventions shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,490,722 to Sonnett et al. and 5,765,739 to Yates, III which disclose dental floss dispensers. Both of these inventions are limited to dental floss dispensers and do not suggest or teach an apparatus in combination for use with other dental hygiene products such as a toothbrush. Also seen in the prior art are toothbrush holders which usually include a housing with a lid having a plurality of holes formed in a top end. The elongated toothbrush handle inserts through one of the holes thereby retaining the brush in an upright position such that the bristles of the toothbrush are disposed above the housing and permitted to dry. These inventions too fail to suggest or teach an apparatus in combination for use with other dental hygiene products such as a roll of dental floss.
The above aforementioned devices are deficient in many ways. Most noticeable is that each of these prior art devices merely permit an individual to organize a single dental hygiene product. Accordingly, if an individual wants to organize a plurality of objects, one must provide a multitude of organizers. This unfortunately clutters the counter-top of an individual""s bathroom sink and defeats the purpose of providing an aesthetically pleasing and organized bathroom area. Therefore, improvements on dental hygiene product organizers have been invented.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,003 to Foster discloses one type of combination organizer. Shown therein, is a housing having an inner cavity for receiving a disposable rinsing cup. Disposed along a top side of the housing is a lid having a plurality of holes formed therein for receiving and retaining toothbrushes in an upright position. Unfortunately, this invention fails to disclose anything that would permit other dental hygiene products to be organized within the invention, such as, for example, a roll of dental floss.
Some inventions found in the prior art attempt to provide an organizer that stores a plurality of items including, a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss and other dental hygiene products. Such can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,215,193 to Dennis, 5,662,130 to Wiltshire and 5,638,840 to Lee et al. However, these inventions have also proven to be deficient. The most evident deficiency relates to the complicated structure and the need for a plurality of parts to form the device. Accordingly, these devices are difficult to market since the high manufacturing costs substantially outweigh the marketing price. Simply put, individuals avoid purchasing these products since they cost too much. Further, not everyone wants an organizer that can hold every dental hygiene product known. Many individuals simply want a device that can retain a toothbrush and a roll of floss.
Recognizing a desire for a device which merely holds a toothbrush and roll of floss, certain prior art devices have been invented which attempt to fulfill this simple desire. Such can been seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,673,106 to Fishman, 5,097,964 to Fitz, 5,335,798 to Bonwell, and 5,924,429 to Morando. However, these devices, like others in the prior art, have shown to possess major deficiencies which warrant improvements to made thereupon. Again, as seen before, these devices employ a multitude of parts, making them difficult to manufacture and therefore expensive to market. Further, some have gone as far as to employ electrical signaling means, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,798, for the purpose of reminding the user to floss. These type of devices have shown to complicate even further a simple concept which is merely that an individual should remember to floss their teeth after brushing.
From all of the prior art references, it is clear that an improved dental hygiene product is needed. The improved device should avoid the use of any electrical signaling means and employ as few parts as possible. This would ensure low manufacturing costs. The improved dental hygiene product device should also provide organization for just a few dental hygiene products, such as, for example, a toothbrush and a roll of dental floss.
I have invented an improved dental hygiene product which overcomes the deficiencies seen in the prior art. My device employs only a few parts and is therefore easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Further, my device provides for the organization of only a few dental hygiene productsxe2x80x94namely, a toothbrush and a roll of dental floss. Each product is retained by my improved device in a small cup-like shaped housing which is designed to rest upon a bathroom sink counter-top such that it is both unobtrusive, easy to access, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
A bottom member is shaped like a cup with a flat bottom portion and a circular open top portion. A convexed-shaped top fits in the bottom member open top portion and has a plurality of holes formed therein. The holes can receive an elongated portion of a toothbrush. One of the holes has a rubber grommet wedged within the hole. The grommet has a hole formed in a middle portion thereof. A small housing enclosing a roll of dental floss mounts below the grommet. The small housing further includes a top with a tip portion which fits within the hole formed in the grommet. The dental floss threads through the tip portion and the hole of the grommet to provide its user access to the dental floss. A small cutter is attached along an outer circumference of the bottom portion and is used to cut a strand of desired length of dental floss.